A flour mill (also known as a grain mill) is a beautiful addition to your from-scratch kitchen. It was on my wishlist for about a year, when my wonderful husband and family purchased one for my birthday! As soon as I found out that I was getting my own flour mill, I began to dream of how I could create a milling station that is both useful and beautiful! Keep reading to see how I organized my grains, how I set up the grain mill area, and get inspiration on how to make it all charming in the process!
The Furniture
Both of these pieces were purchased secondhand, and both were amazing deals. The large piece was $100, and the small one was $20! Both needed a bit of work, but I cleaned them well, installed beautiful hardware on both pieces, and added the curtain on the white piece. You can find deals on pieces at yard sales, estate sales, online marketplaces, and more! You may even find real antiques, such as the pieces I found, for great prices if you keep your eyes peeled long enough.
- Wood China Cabinet (Similar): I found a cabinet that is the most similar in color to mine, and is a similar style to my piece as well. Another option is one that has a similar shape and layout to my cabinet, but is not as well reviewed for the price. You can also find an affordable alternative with a different color and size, but still has the same general style and accomplishes the same goal.
- White Cabinet (Similar): One option is a buffet style cabinet that is white and wood like mine. Another option would be a similar sized cabinet but that is a different style.
The Grain Storage
To store my grains for easy access (not necessarily long-term storage), I like to keep them in a variety of jars and grain sacks or bags. This keeps the pests and moisture at bay, organizes the grains, and makes them ready to use at a moment’s notice! My favorite part is how satisfying it is to see these on the shelves. It’s so inviting and inspires me to use the grains with every chance I get!
- Grain Jars: I use the half gallon mason jars with the beautiful wood lids to store the grains. It’s easy to pour the grains, and it looks beautiful too!
- Grain Sacks: To store bulk grains, you can use burlap grain sacks to keep them fresh. They look adorable but still remain highly functional. I refill my grain jars from the grain sacks.
- Label Maker: I use a non-electric label maker to mark the jars so that I know which jar contains which grains.
The Decor
Many of these decor pieces are both functional and beautiful, but others are there just to help set the mood by the flour mill station. There’s something so charming about having these little accents around. It makes you feel like you’ve stepped back into a simpler time. Believe it or not, it makes milling flour more fun somehow!
- Copper Colander: I purchased this beautiful colander at an antique store so that it would already have the tarnishing, but you can easily buy a brand new copper colander and age it yourself (using one of my techniques in the DIY copper pot rack post)!
- Wood Utensils: I have a collection of wood utensils, most of which were thrifted. Similar to these include a wood rolling pin, a primitive wood mallet, a wooden spoon, and a wood honey dipper.
- Plant: I have a faux plant in this room because there is not enough light for a real plant here! Though I do want to find a real plant that can handle the very low light from the single north-facing window that I have in this room.
- Books: I have a stack of cookbooks and decorative books on the shelves. Included in this stack are Magnolia Table, Flower Recipe Book, The Flower Workshop, and The Science of Good Cooking.
- Large White Bowl: I use a large white vintage Pfaltzgraff punch bowl with lid to hold coffee pods. You could also use it to hold grains that you scoop as needed, particularly if you use mostly one grain in particular. This white punch bowl is similar to mine if you don’t have the time to wait for a thrifted option.
- Chalk Board: I keep a small chalk board handy for tracking how many cups of grains will mill into how many cups of flour.
- Stack of Linens: I like to keep a stack of linens handy for covering dough bowls while my breads rise. Similar to my stack of linens are natural linen cloths, striped napkins, sage green napkins, and green and white check napkins.
- Baskets: I have a vintage bike basket similar to this bike basket that I keep extra linens in. I also have a basket similar to this woven basket bowl which is currently purely for decoration. And finally, I have a stack of woven shallow baskets that are also for decor only.
- Vintage Green Hand Mixer: I have a vintage green hand mixer that I thrifted just for decor, but this green hand mixer is new and would actually be functional!
- Glass Cake Dome: I use a glass cake dome to display fresh-baked goods.
- Bowl: I thrifted my white stoneware bowl that I keep in front of my mill for catching the flour, but there is a white bamboo bowl that is similar in size and style!
- Butter Dish: I thrifted a dish that is similar to this white butter dish for keeping a stick of butter at room temperature!
- Hanging Cloth: I keep a decorative cloth hanging on the wall, similar to this green check table cloth. If I’m totally honest, there was a leftover nail there from a previous photo on the wall, and instead of pulling the nail out I just hung a random cloth on it, and ended up loving it. Sometimes it’s the unplanned ideas that come out the best!
The Flour Mill and Grains
After lots of research, I chose this specific stone grain mill, and have absolutely loved it. I also purchase my grains from a variety of sources, as I have yet to find any brand that is any better or worse than the next.
- Grain Mill: I use the Gold NutriMill Harvest Stone Grain Mill as my flour mill.
- Grains: I keep hard white wheat berries, soft white wheat berries, hard red wheat berries, and einkorn wheat berries on hand.
- Large Bowl: I thrifted my white stoneware bowl that I keep in front of my mill for catching the flour, but there is a white bamboo bowl that is similar in size and style!
Shop The Whole Look
Here’s a fast way to shop the entire look for your flour mill and grain milling station! This includes similar decor, functional items, and the actual grain mill that I use. Most of these are lookalikes, since many of my items in the photos are thrifted or from antique stores.
- Gold NutriMill Harvest Stone Grain Mill
- China Cabinet
- Buffet Cabinet
- Mason Jars, Wood Lids
- Burlap Grain Sacks
- Copper Colander
- Magnolia Table Book
- White Punch Bowl
- Chalk Board
- Linen Napkins
- Striped Napkins
- Sage Green Napkins
- Green and White Check Napkins
- Bike Basket
- Woven Bowl
- Shallow Woven Baskets
- Green Hand Mixer
- Glass Cake Dome
- White Butter Dish
- Wood Rolling Pin
- Wood Mallet
- Wooden Spoon
- Wood Honey Dipper
- White Bamboo Bowl
- Faux Plant
- Green Check Table Cloth
- Cuisinart Toaster Oven
- Nespresso Coffee Maker
